Overview
- Shares sank after the warning, with U.S.-listed receipts down nearly 15% on Tuesday and Copenhagen stock sliding about 17%–18% on Wednesday as obesity drugmakers broadly fell.
- Novo attributed the outlook to reduced realized prices in the U.S. tied to pricing agreements with the Trump administration, Inflation Reduction Act effects, intensifying rivalry, and semaglutide losing exclusivity in markets including Canada, Brazil and China.
- The Wegovy pill is off to a fast U.S. start, reaching roughly 50,000 weekly prescriptions by Jan. 23 and more than 170,000 users, with about 90% paid out of pocket and most scripts at the starter dose via telehealth channels.
- Cash-pay pricing has reset lower, with the Wegovy pill starter dose offered around $149 per month, undercutting injectables and helping drive consumer uptake.
- Analysts are reassessing long-term obesity-market growth and warn of a potential price war as Eli Lilly extends its lead on efficacy and share and is expected to introduce an oral competitor in the coming months.